John Munson/The Star-LedgerYankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been the subject of much debate in this American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Video: Star-Ledger writers recap the Yankees ALDS game 3 win over the OriolesNew York Yankees Raul Ibanez smacked a game-tying pinch hit home run in the ninth and then the game-winner in the 12th as the Yankees defeat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the ALDS. Star-Ledger baseball writers Andy McCullough and Jeff Bradley and columnist Dave D'Alessandro recap the game. Video by WIlliam Perlman/The Star-Ledger

Well, Thursday night all eyes will be on one of the most divisive topics in our nation at the moment. Taxes? No. Environmental issues? Please. Gas costs? Keep moving.

No, it will be Alex Rodriguez — and more specifically: What do the Yankees do with him?

In Wednesday night's Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Rodriguez struggled again, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. But he was pinch-hit for in the ninth inning by manager Joe Girardi, a move which catapulted the Yankees to the win, because his replacement in the lineup — Raul Ibanez — hit the game-tying and game-winning homers in a 3-2 win. But with the Yankees on the brink of advancing to the ALCS, Rodriguez's status still remains an issue.

That's why — with all due respect to Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan — Star-Ledger baseball writers Andy McCullough (Move A-Rod Party) and Brendan Prunty (Let Him Stay Party) Leave held the biggest debate of the day. Listen to their arguments and then decide which side you stand on by voting in the poll below:

Opening Statements

Prunty: So Wednesday night was the prototypical excuse for Joe Girardi to finally bench Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had another 0-fer night, piling on two more strikeouts to his total in this series. Then he drops Raul Ibanez into the lineup as a pinch-hitter and boom! -- two home runs and the brink of the ALCS. No brainer to finally sit or drop A-Rod, right? Wrong. Here's why: The Yankees are still winning in spite of his troubles. Girardi is all about consistency, right? Well, time to keep the status quo. It's gotten you this far, ride it the rest of the way.

McCullough: During the course of the regular season, lineup construction is somewhat overrated. The 162 offsets whatever effect the batting order has on a team’s record. In the playoffs, which rely on such a smaller sample size, lineup construction suddenly becomes critical. You want your best players to get as many at-bats as possible. The Yankees best hitter is Robinson Cano. He bats fourth. You can see why this may be a problem. But when Girardi pulled Rodriguez for a pinch-hitter on Wednesday, he opened the door for at least a marginal upgrade in his lineup. He can now move Cano into the No. 3 spot against right-handed starters, with Rodriguez shifting down to fifth.

McCullough: Girardi harped on how shifting the batting order has a much larger effect than moving just one player, and how they want to protect left-handed hitters. I suppose I’m missing something then. Because as switch-hitters, Swisher and Teixeira both offer right-handed protection for Cano, just like Rodriguez does.

Prunty: While that scenario may be true — even though Rodriguez has taken only five of his 529 plate appearances this season in the 5-hole — the biggest effect of a move is on Rodriguez himself. And guess what? He's already been moved by being pinch-hit for on Wednesday night. While everyone lauded it for being a gutsy call at the time, it totally took the onus off of Girardi to have to do it again. The storm that had been brewing for the first four days of this series was totally diffused in the ninth inning when Girardi sent Ibanez up to the plate. Making a move at this point — this deep into the series — only throws gasoline on a fire that's already out. The Yankees need one win now, not another distraction.

Prunty: Do you know his numbers against Sauders? He's 7-for-16 lifetime with two homers and five RBIs. Rodriguez is batting .438 against him. One of the few things that Rodriguez has done well this season is hit lefties: He's hitting .308 this season with eight homes and 24 RBIs. That means the chances for him to get on base greatly increase over Ibanez, who is hitting .197. The Yankees need to get their offense going — and more importantly, put runners on for Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira — and Rodriguez is just the man to do it. In the 3-hole.

McCullough: I agree. Rodriguez performed quite well against left-handers this season. He hit .308/.410/.514 against them. He looked comfortable on Monday night against Orioles southpaw Wei-Yin Chen. Saunders is a below-average pitcher, and likely won’t last long. So Ibanez will be a useful late-game weapon again.

Question No. 3: Is sitting A-Rod an option?

McCullough: Not really. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to sit him, either. Is he in total decline? Yes. But is he still an above-average player? Yes. Girardi deserves credit for making the necessary move on Wednesday night. But Rodriguez hasn’t completely fallen off the face of the earth in terms of production. Granderson, for example, has looked far worse this postseason. Rodriguez can still put together decent at-bats.

Prunty: Do you want to lose? Do you want to give anyone and everyone a reason to second-guess you for the rest of your career if the Orioles were to come back in that scenario? Girardi simply can't even entertain the idea of putting Rodriguez on the bench. Forget that he's slipping as a player, he still is Alex Rodriguez. It was like those who said that Tiger Woods should have to sit out portions of the Ryder Cup because he can't handle it any more: You do it at your own risk. Regardless of how tarnished the silver bullet may be, you can't leave it in the chamber. Have to start him every game.